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Monday, 31 August 2015

My week with INXS is over. Seven songs, one each day and now its all over. I've learned a lot about this band during the last week, and now, all that remains to be done is to decide which of my seven choices comes in on top!!

So without further ado here are my seven song choices in order of my preference:

Day seven of my week with INXS and for my last choice its 'Devil Inside'.

'Devil Inside' was released in 1988. It was another single taken from their album 'Kick'.

This is quite a bit more rock n roll than pop, and has a real kick (sorry for the pun) to it. Its still quite electro, and is once again a Hutchence and Fariss collaboration.

'Devil Inside' is a catchy song. Hutchence sounds breathy and sultry on his vocals in this song. The lyrics get lodged firmly in your head. "Devil inside, devil inside, every single one of us, the devil inside". Its one of those songs that you realise you somehow know all the words to, without realising that you did!! At least in my case!

The video is another classic 80's one. Big suit jackets, wild clothing - including an "Ali G" style spandex outfit donned by 2 very burly fellas!! I'm not sure what its all about, but there are fetish like masks, and all sorts of goings on!! I suppose the song is called Devil Inside!!

As a single, it didn't fare so well, missing out on the top 40 reaching number 47 in the UK singles chart. It is far better than that position might suggest.

There we are then, day 7 and my last choice. Check back tomorrow for my decision on which of my choices comes in at the number 1 spot!!

You can find days 1-6 and loads more over at My Music page here. Happy listening :)

Well first up, its an epic ebay wrapping session. Usually one or two items, but as it was free listings last weekend, I've got quite a few to wrap. So that's Saturday morning's job.

Next its Personal Training at 2pm Saturday. Still aching and burning from my PT on Thursday evening, and the gym last night, so goodness knows what will be burning after this!!

Then the middle one of the boys is bringing his girlfriend down from Donny to meet us for the first time - pressure, pressure!! So I need to do a quick dust and hoover - the house is immaculate, but it has to be done.

Sat night will be a quiet one, just tea and a catch up. Sunday, its time for a run out somewhere nice - weather permitting, and a visit to see my lovely mum and dad, before a few drinks somewhere that evening.

Monday, well, Monday is month end, so its a comping marathon!! Its also the continuation of the 30 day squat and ab challenge.

I will also be finishing my week with INXS with my Day 7 choice, before deciding who is next. Its also time to consider what's good on TV right now, and what's coming up. X Factor starts again today don't forget!!

I shall continue with my diet updates, and my PT adventures, not to mention that Cow story. Yes, we got chased by cows!! All good fun :)

'Disappear' was the second single from their album X. It was released in 1990 and did quite well in the UK singles chart, reaching number 21.

The video is another typical INXS video. I never realised how their videos were all so alike!! Basically, this one is pretty much black and white, featuring Hutchence in some fairly dodgy jeans with an unfortunately placed black stripe on the zipper!! Nothing much else going on, which on its own is ok. But every video seems to have him doing the same thing!!

The song is better. Its not as memorable as some of their earlier releases, but it is catchy. It was another Fariss / Hutchence collaboration and the result is quite a pop number.

"You're so fine, lose my mind, and the world seems to disappear, all the problems, all the fears, and the world seems to disappear" . This is my favourite lyric from this song, to the point where it is going round and round in my head, and I'm constantly repeating it! Its just so catchy!

All in all this is a good song. Go take a listen, and let me know what you think. You can find days 1-5 over at My Music page here. Happy listening :)

I have always been a Hitchcock fan. Lets begin there. I loved Psycho when I first saw it, and many many years later, its still one of the greats in my opinion. The remake is ok, but the original is just beyond superb. So it was with some intrigue that I decided to watch this film - Hitchcock, which is, in the main, about the making of said film. It was released in 2012.

As a starter, this film stars not one, but two of my favourite actors. Anthony Hopkins play the lead role of Alfred Hitchcock. Helen Mirren plays Alma Reville, wife of Hitchcock. Now, with this kind of acting calibre, you would expect a fabulous film.

In the main, the film is about their relationship, and obviously the making of Psycho. It begins with Hitchcock opening his latest film, in 1959. The film in question being North by Northwest. The film was a success, but H is concerned when a reporter dares suggest its time to hang his socks up and retire from the business. In a bid to regain the excitement he felt as a young man, he chooses a wildcard choice - the horror story "Pyscho", over and above the chance to adapt mainstream novels.

Hitchcock is really keen to do it, against opposition, including that from Alma. Their writer colleague, Whitfield Cook has an adaptation of his own that he wants them to consider. It becomes clear that Whit is a threat to H, and Hitchcock does not like him one bit. Eventually, he convinces Alma how much and why he wants to do Psycho. As they relax in their beautiful home, with their swimming pool, he explains to her that before all that, they were free and reckless. This appeals to her and she agrees to help him.

Unfortunately, the film studio is less than keen on financing his venture, and H in frustration decides to fund it himself. He tells Alma that they may lose all they have, but she supports him. She even suggests casting the female lead and having her killed off early in the film.

Production begins, and H is under enormous pressure to make it work. There are issues around his behaviour with his female lead, Janet Leigh - played by Scarlett Johansson. Its revealed that H has a peep hole through which he watches his leading ladies!! To be honest, you can see his point on that if Leigh was as curvaceous as Johansson! Alma increasingly turns to Whit, and begins to work with him on his adaptation, spending more and more time with him at his beach house.

H gets more and more erratic as his jealously builds. The film faces mounting battles around censorship - nudity and the sheer horror and gruesomeness of the tale. Hitchcock buckles under the strain, and Alma takes the lead on set. He confronts Alma over what he believes is her betrayal of him with Whit, and of course she denies it.

Psycho's first cut doesn't go down well. Meanwhile Alma heads to the beach house and finds her own betrayal - she finds Whit with another younger woman. Both H and Alma, face their demons and work to make Psycho the best film ever. Their renewed passion for each other, evolves into a dynamite team on the set. Psycho begins to take shape, with the now infamous soundtrack to the shower scene added in edit - you know the one. "Eek eek eek eek " violin strings sound as the knife slashes. So dramatic, and without it, would it be the Psycho we now know?

The recut version is better received, but the studio still only agrees to open in two theatre houses. Alma and H set to work promoting the film, using pre-scripted dialogue to build the anticipation and gimmicks such as not allowing late entry into the film, to guarantee queues. As the film plays, Hitchcock peers out from the projection booth at the audience. He has a thing about peering through spyholes - like his peep hole for the ladies, and also that actually featured in the film, and now here is again, voyeuristically observing his audience.

The audience are terrified. As they scream, Hitchcock is outside the entrance doors, conducting to their screams. Its a success and he knows it. H thanks Alma, and all is well between them. Psycho goes on to do amazingly well, and becomes the all time great we now know it as.

The film ends with Hitchcock outside his home, having made a success of Psycho and pondering his next project. As he considers this, a large black crow lands on his shoulder. This can only be a nod to The Birds! He greets his wife, and the film ends.

Psycho was the biggest success of Hitchcock's career. Its a fabulous film. Watching this film was an eye opener for me. I had no idea he had to face such battles and self fund it. I had no idea he was such a character! I didn't know that Psycho was based upon a real life killer by the name of Ed Gein. All in all, this a brilliantly depicted behind the scenes film about a film I thought I knew well.

I definitely recommend a watch. Mirren and Hopkins are brilliant, and well cast to play against one another. I really enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.

Today on my 30 day squat and ab challenge the target is 75 squats and 75 abs. Now the numbers are starting to increase.

I'm starting to split them up now, as it doesn't half burn your thighs! I'm going to be doing some in the morning, some in the evening, in small doses. Obviously PT days will take me way over target, but all good!

Its so hard but I want a motivation for squats behind. I want to be toned. I want a flat middle.

I want to look fit and healthy, and that doesn't come easy. It has to be hard work or everyone would look amazing, and lets face it, we don't. Well, I don't anyway, so I need to work at it.

It goes up tomorrow, up again Tuesday, then finally a rest day. My flipping rest day keeps landing on a gym day, or worse still a PT day, which is not a rest!! Tuesday is a PT day, so define rest??

I heard this for the very first time on the radio, and wasn't sure who sang it. It didn't initially sound like Example. Well, for the first few seconds until it really kicked in!

'Whisky Story' is truly an Example song. Its fun, its upbeat, its catchy - I absolutely love this song!

Lets begin with the brilliant cover shot of a dog, in a shirt and tie with a glass of whisky. Cool fact - he ran a competition for fans to submit images of their pets and this was the winning shot - pure brilliance!! I have to print this and put it on my wall - its just ace.

Back to the song. 'Whisky Story' is the first single to be released from his forthcoming album. I would say its a return to form, except he's never really been off form, but this is like his earlier stuff.

This was officially released in July 2015, but I heard it for the first time just this week. Apparently Example wrote this, as a new dad, thinking back to his younger nights out.

The lyrics are brill "Oh darling, let's stay up all night, Drinking whisky, telling stories, I can keep you satisfied" repeats over and over. Then, and I don't normally quote the entire verse, but...... :

"Who is this staying over? I can't recall her name
She lies there on the sofa every morning like LorraineHer waistline gets a rub, retrace our night of funThese constant slap-dash flashbacks of our date night down the pubI hear somebody leaving, somebody heaving, somebody barely breathingIt's hard to remember where it descended, started as the quietest eveningI don't wanna live in this drama, I can't keep playing this gameBut the Friday night delights outweigh the Sunday morning pain, let's do it again"

I mean how flipping perfect is that? A drink down the local turns into a night of drunken messiness!! Yup. There's being young and irresponsible right there. Summed up perfectly into a song line that sounds so funny yet so spot on.

The video is one of the best I have seen. Apparently shot in one take by none other than Example himself using a selfie stick!! He is on the tube in London, Charing Cross, and it shows him walking up the stairs, the escalator then out to Nelson's column I believe. Various passers by lip sync the "Oh Darling" line and the end result is nothing short of brilliance.

I love this song, I love this video - Example is back!! Wow. Just wow.

Check it out, let me know what you think. You can find all my previous choices over at My Music page here. Happy listening :)

This was the third single released from their album Kick. It was released in 1988.

'New Sensation' reached number 25 in the UK singles chart, so not their biggest hit, but still Top 40.

The song is quite electro pop - lots of keyboards on this one, but its the saxophone that really lifts it from hum drum 80's to something stand out. Once again, it seems to be about living life to the full, partying and this fits Hutchence vocals perfectly.

The video sees the band looking, well, quite smart actually! Hutchence has his hair back and is wearing a suit looking quite suave. They look like they are on top of a building somewhere. Not much going on in this one, just them and their instruments.

This is a good song, not their best in my humble opinion, but still catchy and worth a revisit.

Go take a listen and let me know what you think. You can check out Days 1-4 plus loads more over at My Music page - just click here. Happy listening :)

Right then, Reason number 1 it is then. This is my intention to think of a reason every day to stick to my diet.

If I can keep that thought in mind for each whole day, I hope it will be enough to keep me motivated and inspired. So here goes with reason number 1.

Number 2

#Reason No 2 - I want to be a Size 10/12

My intention to think of a reason every day to stick to my diet.

If I can keep this thought in mind for each whole day, I hope it will be enough to keep me motivated and inspired.

Reason Number 2 is that I have reached a Size 12 once or twice, but never maintained it, and I need to be a bit smaller still. So size 10/12 is the goal.

Number 3
Reason number 3 to stick to my diet: To fit into all those lovely clothes in my wardrobe!!

I have many items in my wardrobe that I can't currently wear. Some are mere pounds away from fitting, some I can barely get up to my knees!! Some do fit, but look awful because they fit in all the wrong places!!

It would be lovely to open my wardrobe and just be able to select an item, knowing it will fit me. It would make packing for holiday a pleasure, not a challenge!!

Number 4
My reason number 4 for sticking to my diet is to look good at work. I am fed up of wearing the same old clothes every day. I want to be able to wear what I want to wear, not just black and grey.

I want to be more stylish, more groomed, more put together. So my fourth reason is to look good at work.

This was the first single from their album 'Kick'. Released in 1987, this was a massive hit, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart.

Its a bit synthesiser, and has a really distinctive riff to it that makes you instantly recognise it. Hutchence sounds breathy and sultry on this one. Its a real stand out track.

That riff "de de de, de-de-de" really hooks you in. As do the lyrics. It kicks in with "All you got is this moment, 21st Century's yesterday". This is one of those songs where somehow you realise you know all the words!! "So slide over here, and give me a moment, your moves are so raw". Its quite a lustful song I would say, rather than a love song!

The video is quite random. Different images of the band and Hutchence kind of overlaid over one another. Some in colour, some still, some moving, some in black and white. Its interesting to watch, albeit not a lot happens.

This is a great song and its one of those that you really remember as being their signature track.

Go take a listen, remind yourself of this classic, and let me know what you think. For more of My Music, check out my page here. Happy listening :)

Drag Me To Hell came out in 2009, but don't worry about it being a few years old, as it will still scare the pants off you!!

This one is directed by Sam Raimi (he of Evil Dead fame). The film is all about a bank worker Christine, played by Alison Lohman, who is brilliant in this. An old gypsy woman comes into the bank to extend her loan, but given no choice by her boss, as she wants to impress to get a promotion, Christine has to refuse the woman's request.

Not impressed by this, the gypsy woman, Mrs Ganush curses Christine. When she leaves work, Ganush is waiting for her in the car park and attacks her. She tears a button off Christine's coat, and reaffirms the curse. Christine later goes to see a fortune teller with her boyfriend (Justin Long - Jeepers Creepers), who tells her he sees spirits haunting her in her home. That night, those spirits do indeed haunt her in some very scary scenes.

She desperately goes back to the fortune teller, who tells her that being in possession of the button, the cursed item, will draw the Lamia - a demon. He suggests a sacrifice, which Christine does. Her kitten. She even goes to try and find Ganush, but when she gets there, she finds the family having a wake for her death. Ganush is dead.

Things seem ok, so she goes to her boyfriends parents for dinner. At first, she is charming but then they think she is bonkers as the Lamia scares her with illusions and tricks that they can't see. Back to the fortune teller again, and this time they suggest a seance and the help of a medium with old ties to this demon. It doesn't work. The assistant is possessed, and the medium is killed.

Christine had just 3 days of being cursed before she is to be dragged to hell. In a last hope, the fortune teller seals the button in an envelope and tells Christine to must gift it to someone else, and in doing so pass on the curse. She tries to give it to her conniving work colleague Stu, but he is so pathetic and grovelling that she cannot do it.

She decides to find Ganush' grave and curse her with the button. As even after death, the soul lives on. She digs her up, falls into the grave, but manages to put the envelope in her mouth.

The next day, at the train station with her boyfriend, Clay. He brings out the envelope with the button in it - she had left it in his car - she had got the envelopes mixed up. Terrified, she backs away, falls from the platform into the path of the oncoming train. Before she can meet her end that way, hands come up from the ground and drag her down into hell. Clay is left on the platform holding the cursed button.

This is such a good, scary film. Another great scary choice, and one of the most unexpected scares there is. Not predictable, and not dated, just scary. Brilliant.